Greetings from Gallup New Mexico,

The title came from a quote by my friend Howard (or mate) as he refers to me, who is a frequent riding companion and philosopher at large. He was referring specifically to today’s ride as a difficult one got progressively worse as the day went on. WE had our second state line crossing and probably the toughest day we have encountered to date.

As we left Holbrook, the temperatures was again in the 40’s but the wind gods did not smile on us today as they did in the prior. Throughout the ride we either had a strong side wind or a headwind which is especially hard when you are riding a 94 mile day after a 90 mile day.

I did not feel at the top of my game today either. I struggled to keep up with Howard and he pulled a little ahead as we pulled into the first SAG around 38 miles. I think we actually caught all the riders who started before us but almost everyone bunched into that SAG within 10 minutes or so. However, that pattern would not repeat at the second SAG. The sun was shining but they called for the possibility of rain in Gallup around 3. I think we may have stayed a little too long as my legs felt like rubber as we peeled off.  There was a lot of climbs besides the wind, I think 2800 total feet, not a lot for 94 miles but I struggled up most of them.

The second SAG was at 63 miles and I pulled in several minutes behind Howard. The sun was still thing but in every direction one could see rain clouds and rain in the distance. We seemed to be riding in-between all the precipitation. As I was feeling worse, I asked Howard if he wanted to push on quickly after we had something to eat and topped off our bottles. As I started to pedal off, Hoard shouted something to me, between his British accent, the wind and the fact that he was eating a banana, I had no clue what he was talking about. Jane and I thought he was referring to the Doritos truck that was pulling into the parking lot but eventually I figured out that it was my water bottle that I was leaving behind.

Most of our riding toady was on Interstate 40 and there was also some highway construction that we had to navigate. A couple of overpass bridges were repaired and we pedaled off the exit ramp and then took the entrance ramp on the other side. As I pedaled off, Mac of the staff was on the road, looking out for the other riders as only Howard and I had showed up. Mac glanced at the sky and said that I was “a wise man.”. I pondered that if I was a bit wiser, I might just be sitting at home complaining about all the rain and cold weather instead of riding in it.

The New Mexico state line was at mile 72 and I did the ritual sprinkle, actually I just tossed the sane in the air as the sky was looking ever more ominous and no one was there to take a picture with me . About the same time the wind picked up and and converted to a head wind that was pretty brutal. My speed was dropping off but adrenaline kept me going. A few miles later, I started t get pelted by a light drizzle. The temperature was dropping and I later found out it went into the low 40’s a drop of over 20 degrees. I was partially prepared for the temperature drop and the rain…

I rode the last 10 miles in a pretty hard rain that was often difficult to see. The big rigs were whizzing by me and the vortex created by their wake sometimes made staying on course difficult. I contemplated taking shelter but knew that I probably would not be able to get back on the bike again. As I got closer to Gallup, my hands were frozen but my destination acted as magnet and i was able to pick up my speed. Coming into Gallup, I could see our hotel on the other side of the interstate and knew I had made it. I said a prayer for my mates as I was first in and the conditions did not look any better. I had stop stand in front of the heater as I was shivering and took a hot bath ( a rarity for me).

Howard actually pulled in Mike the last few miles and kept him going. I saw Mike later and his quotes “The worst day of my life”.  About half the riders bailed within theist 10 miles. Barb and Mary Clare finished quite strongly. A few came in almost 2 hours after I did because they stopped in the New Mexico visitor’s center hoping the weather would clear. Lou’s cable broke and he rode over 60 miles with only 2 gears. Lois, was behind many of the other riders but rode the whole way in. Some of the guys in front of her had bailed but they gave her the “Man-up” award. When they told her later, I could see that she teared up. The ladies on this trip are all strong riders.

As i write this, it is rain here and it seems like tomorrow will be in the 50’s all day with rain at 50%. I remember Grants from past years as one of the toughest riding days because of the wicked side wind. I remember riding with Patty, Cindy, Julie and a few others as we battled the wind in 2012. In 2014, I just put down my head and hammered on the aero bars. We didn’t have rain or cold this times….

Thanks for reading

~Chuck